Faucet

ABSTRACT

A faucet is provided, and the faucet includes a faucet body, an electrically controllable valve, a contact sensing unit, a motion sensing unit, and a control unit. The control unit determines an operation mode of the faucet based on a signal of the contact sensing unit and a signal of the motion sensing unit, and controls an on-off state of the electrically controllable valve.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Division of application Ser. No. 16/114,302, filedon Aug. 28, 2018 with claiming foreign priority of TW106129406 andTW107122692. The prior application is herewith incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to a faucet, and in particular, to afaucet that determines an operation mode or an on-off state based onsignals of a plurality of sensing units.

Related Art

Faucets are common water supply devices in contemporary life for usersto clean items or hands. However, when hands are dirty and needed to bewashed, a switch of a faucet has to be manually turned on and thus getspolluted, and a user needs to clean the switch of the faucet aftercleaning the hands, which consumes additional resources.

SUMMARY

In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a fauceteasy to operate.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a faucet, and the faucetincludes a faucet body, an electrically controllable valve, a contactsensing unit, a motion sensing unit, and a control unit. The faucet bodyincludes a water inlet end and a water outlet end. The electricallycontrollable valve is connected between the water inlet end and thewater outlet end, to allow or block the connection between the waterinlet end and the water outlet end based on an on-off state of theelectrically controllable valve. The contact sensing unit includes asensing end, where the sensing end is disposed on or electricallyconnected to the faucet body, to respond, based on whether the rotatablewater outlet pipe is contacted by an object, a change of a signal outputfrom the contact sensing unit. The motion sensing unit, which is anaccelerometer or a gyroscope, to respond, based on a rotation status ofthe rotatable water outlet pipe, a signal of an acceleration output fromthe accelerometer or a signal of a velocity output from the gyroscope.The control unit is electrically connected to the contact sensing unit,the motion sensing unit, and the electrically controllable valve, to getthe rotation status of the rotatable water outlet pipe based on theacceleration or the velocity, and to change, when the operation mode isa touch mode, and the control unit detects that the rotatable wateroutlet pipe is contacted by the object based on the signal output fromthe contact sensing unit and the rotatable water outlet pipe is notrotated based on that the acceleration or the velocity is lower than athreshold, the on-off state of the electrically controllable valve, ornot change, when the operation mode is the touch mode, and the controlunit detects that the rotatable water outlet pipe is contacted by theobject based on the signal output from the contact sensing unit and therotatable water outlet pipe is rotated based on that the acceleration orthe velocity is higher than the threshold, the on-off state of theelectrically controllable valve.

In conclusion, a contact sensing unit and a motion sensing unit may beinstalled on a faucet in an embodiment of the present invention, so thatthe faucet executes a plurality of modes based on a detection signal ofthe faucet. In addition, a faucet in an embodiment of the presentinvention may be used as an input interface through rotation of a wateroutlet pipe. Furthermore, a power module of a faucet in an embodiment ofthe present invention has a plurality of power supply units, so that itcan be ensured that at least some elements in the faucet are normallyoperated. Moreover, a faucet in an embodiment of the present inventionfurther has an indication unit that may be used by a user to identify astatus of the faucet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thusare not limitative of the present invention, and where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional diagram 1 of a faucet accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a faucet according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic three-dimensional diagram 2 of a faucet accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic three-dimensional diagram of a faucet according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 to FIG. 12 are schematic diagrams of configuration of a motionsensing unit according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a power module according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a power module according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic three-dimensional diagram of a faucet accordingto still another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 16 is a schematic three-dimensional diagram of a faucet accordingto further another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which are respectively a schematicthree-dimensional diagram and a schematic block diagram of a faucetaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. The faucet includesa faucet body 100, an electrically controllable valve 200, a contactsensing unit 300, a motion sensing unit 400, a control unit 500, and apower module 700. The control unit 500 is electrically connected to (forexample, electrically connected to by using a conductive wire) theelectrically controllable valve 200, the contact sensing unit 300, andthe motion sensing unit 400. The control unit 500 may be a single chip,a microprocessor, an embedded controller, another circuit that canperform logical operation, or the like. The electrically controllablevalve 200 may be, for example, a solenoid valve or any other kind ofelectrically controllable valve. The power module 700 supplies power tothe power-consuming element in the faucet, for example, the electricallycontrollable valve 200, the contact sensing unit 300, the motion sensingunit 400, and the control unit 500. The power module 700 may convertexternal sources into an appropriate power supply manner, to supply thepower-consuming elements with power, for example, a power supplier, avoltage regulator, a solar panel, or a port. Alternatively, the powermodule 700 may have sources itself that may supply the power-consumingelements with power, for example, a battery, a capacitor, or agenerator.

In this embodiment, the faucet body 100 includes a water inlet end 110,a water outlet end 120, a manual control valve 130, and a water outletpipe 140. The manual control valve 130 is located between the waterinlet end 110 and the water outlet end 120, and the water outlet pipe140 is located between the water outlet end 120 and the manual controlvalve 130. In a manual mode (that is, a mode in which the faucet needsto be turned on or turned off by using the manual control valve 130),the control unit 500 keeps the electrically controllable valve 200turned on, and may allow or block connection between the water inlet end110 and the water outlet end 120 based on an on-off state of the manualcontrol valve 130.

In this embodiment, the faucet body 100 has two water inlet ends 110,namely, a cold water inlet end 110 a and a hot water inlet end 110 b,but the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, thefaucet body 100 may have only one water inlet end 110, or may have alarger quantity of water inlet ends 110. The faucet body 100 may furtherinclude a plurality of connection pipes 181 to 184. The connection pipe181 is connected between the cold water inlet end 110 a and the manualcontrol valve 130; the connection pipe 182 is connected between the hotwater inlet end 110 b and the manual control valve 130; the connectionpipe 183 is connected between the manual control valve 130 and theelectrically controllable valve 200; and the connection pipe 184 isconnected between the electrically controllable valve 200 and the wateroutlet end 120. In this embodiment, the manual control valve 130 has amixed space internally, to mix cold water flowing through the connectionpipe 181 with hot water flowing through the connection pipe 182, andthen the mixed water flows out from the water outlet end 120 through theconnection pipe 183, the electrically controllable valve 200, and theconnection pipe 184 in sequence. In addition to controlling the on-offstate, the manual control valve 130 may further control a volume ratioof cold water to hot water and an overall water volume, but thisembodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

In this embodiment, at least a part of the connection pipe 184 islocated in the water outlet pipe 140. In some embodiments (such as anembodiment shown in FIG. 4), the connection pipe 184 is connected to thewater outlet pipe 140.

Herein, the electrically controllable valve 200 is connected between themanual control valve 130 and the water outlet end 120. In a touch mode,the manual control valve 130 is in an on state, and the connectionbetween the water inlet end 110 and the water outlet end 120 may beallowed or blocked based on the on-off state of the electricallycontrollable valve 200, so that the faucet is turned on (draining water)or turned off (not draining water). In some embodiments, theelectrically controllable valve 200 may also be connected between themanual control valve 130 and the water inlet end 110, and acorresponding quantity of the electrically controllable valves 200 areconfigured according to a quantity of the water inlet ends 110, tocontrol whether there is water flow through each water inlet end 110.

The contact sensing unit 300 has a sensing end. The sensing end of thecontact sensing unit 300 is disposed on or electrically connected to atleast a part of an outer surface of the faucet body 100, to respond,based on whether the part is contacted by an object (for example, ahuman body), a change of a signal (referred to as a first signal herein)output from the contact sensing unit 300. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3together, herein, the whole contact sensing unit 300 is disposed on thefaucet body 100, but this embodiment of the present invention is notlimited thereto, provided that the sensing end of the contact sensingunit 300 is disposed on or electrically connected to the at least a partof the outer surface of the faucet body 100. The contact sensing unit300 may sense the object through capacitance sensing, resistancesensing, piezoelectric sensing, and the like, and can respond withdifferent signals based on whether the faucet body 100 is contacted bythe object, but this embodiment of the present invention is not limitedthereto. For example, when the object does not contact the faucet body100, the first signal is at a first level (for example, a high level);when the object contacts the faucet body 100, the first signal is at asecond level (for example, a low level); and when the object moves awayfrom the faucet body 100, the first signal is at the first level again.Therefore, through the changes of the first signal, a period in whichthe object contacts the faucet body 100 can be got.

In some embodiments, the contact sensing unit 300 is a capacitancesensing unit, including a capacitor and a capacitance detection circuit,the capacitor is electrically connected to the capacitance detectioncircuit, and an end at which the capacitor is connected to thecapacitance detection circuit is the foregoing sensing end. Thecapacitance detection circuit may detect, by using but not limited to,an RC oscillation frequency, a capacitance value of an equivalentcapacitor of the sensing end or a change of the capacitance value. Whenthe object contacts the at least a part of the outer surface of thefaucet body 100 which the sensing end of the contact sensing unit 300 isdisposed on or electrically connected to, the equivalent capacitancevalue changes. Therefore, by detecting the equivalent capacitance valueof the sensing end or the change of the equivalent capacitance value,whether the at least a part of the outer surface of the faucet body 100is contacted by the object can be inferred.

In some embodiments, the contact sensing unit 300 is a resistancesensing unit, including a resistor whose resistance value is varied withthe deformation of the resistor caused by external force and aresistance detection circuit. The resistor is electrically connected tothe resistance detection circuit, and the resistor is the foregoingsensing end. The resistance detection circuit may detect a change of theresistance value of the resistor based on whether the at least a partthat is of the outer surface of the faucet body 100 and on which thesensing end is disposed is contacted by the object. Therefore, based onthe detected resistance value, whether the at least a part of the outersurface of the faucet body 100 is contacted by the object can beinferred.

In some embodiments, the contact sensing unit 300 is a piezoelectricsensing unit, including a piezoelectric element and a voltage detectioncircuit. The piezoelectric element is electrically connected to thevoltage detection circuit, and the piezoelectric element is theforegoing sensing end. When an external force is applied to a forcedsurface of the piezoelectric element, a corresponding voltage isgenerated on a surface opposite to the forced surface of thepiezoelectric element. The voltage detection circuit may detect avoltage value of the surface opposite to the forced surface of thepiezoelectric element or a change of the voltage value. When the objectcontacts the at least a part of the outer surface of the faucet body 100which the sensing end of the contact sensing unit 300 is disposed on,the voltage value changes because of a contact pressure. Therefore, bydetecting the voltage value of the sensing end or the change of thevoltage value of the sensing end, whether the at least a part of theouter surface of the faucet body 100 is contacted by the object can beinferred.

In some embodiments, the part used to sense a contact may be located inthe manual control valve 130 of the faucet body, the water outlet pipe140, or/and another part, provided that the sensing end of the contactsensing unit 300 is disposed on or electrically connected to the manualcontrol valve 130 of the faucet body, the water outlet pipe 140, or/andanother part that can be contacted by a user. A quantity of the contactsensing unit 300 is not limited to one. For example, the parts that maybe used in detecting the object contact may be respectively connected tothe sensing end of different contact sensing unit 300. For example, ifthe manual control valve 130 is separated from the water outlet pipe140, the manual control valve 130 and the water outlet pipe may berespectively electrically connected to the sensing end of differentcontact sensing unit 300, and the control unit 500 determines, based ona first signal output from each contact sensing unit 300, whether themanual control valve 130 or the water outlet pipe 140 is contacted by anobject.

The motion sensing unit 400 includes a movable part. The movable part isused for sensing motion, for example, sensing a motion such as adisplacement or a rotation. The movable part of the motion sensing unit400 is disposed on the faucet body 100, to respond, based on a motion ofa part of the faucet body 100, a change of a signal (referred to as asecond signal herein) output from the motion sensing unit. Herein, theconnection pipe 184 may be a pulling water pipe 150 that can be pulledout from the water outlet end 120 of the faucet body 100. As shown inFIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a pulled-out state of thepulling water pipe 150. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 together, herein,the whole motion sensing unit 400 is disposed on the pulling water pipe150, but this embodiment of the present invention is not limitedthereto, provided that the movable part of the motion sensing unit 400is disposed on the pulling water pipe 150. The movable part of themotion sensing unit 400 has a displacement when the pulling water pipe150 is pulled or released, and therefore the change of the second signalmay reflect a motion change of the pulling water pipe 150. Herein, aposition on the pulling water pipe 150 at which the motion sensing unit400 is disposed shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and thisembodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example,the movable part of the motion sensing unit 400 may be disposed at aposition on the water outlet pipe 140. In addition, a quantity of themotion sensing unit 400 is not limited to one. The motion sensing unit400 may be a multi-axial accelerometer that can detect accelerationchanges in different axial directions, but the present invention is notlimited thereto. A displacement status of the pulling water pipe 150 maybe calculated based on the acceleration changes.

The control unit 500 may control an operation mode of the faucet basedon the first signal. Herein, the operation mode may be the manual modeor the touch mode. The manual mode is used by the user to operate themanual control valve 130, and when the manual control valve 130 isturned on, the faucet is turned on, and when the manual control valve130 is turned off, the faucet is turned off. The touch mode is used bythe user to determine, based on an action of contacting the faucet body100, whether to turn on or turn off the faucet. This is described indetail hereinafter. When the control unit 500 detects that a time periodin which the first signal changes from a first level to a second leveland keeps in the second level longer than a first time period, itindicates that the faucet body 100 is contacted by an object for aperiod of time, and it indicates that the user intends to change theoperation mode of the faucet. Therefore, the control unit 500 changesthe operation mode of the faucet from the current manual mode to thetouch mode or from the current touch mode to the manual mode.

In some embodiments, the water outlet pipe 140 is rotatable, as shown inFIG. 4. The motion sensing unit 400 may be disposed on the water outletpipe 140. The user pushes the water outlet pipe 140 and the water outletend 120 can rotate relative to an axial center, to change a water flowposition. However, when the user pushes the water outlet pipe 140, asurface of the water outlet pipe 140 is usually contacted, as a result,the control unit 500 may perform an erroneous determining in the touchmode to perform the foregoing action of turning on or turning off thefaucet. Therefore, the motion sensing unit 400 may be used to helpdetermine whether the action of contacting the faucet body indicatesthat the user wants to push the water outlet pipe 140. A specificdetection manner is that a horizontal motion quantity (referred to as afirst horizontal motion quantity hereinafter) of the water outlet pipe140 may be obtained by using the second signal output from the motionsensing unit 400. In the touch mode, when the control unit 500 detectsthat the faucet body 100 is contacted by the object (that is, the firstsignal changes from the first level to the second level) and the firsthorizontal motion quantity is less than a first threshold, it isdetermined that the user intends to turn on or turn off the faucetthrough contact, and therefore the on-off state of the electricallycontrollable valve 200 changes. When the control unit 500 detects thatthe faucet body 100 is contacted by the object (that is, the firstsignal changes from the first level to the second level) and the firsthorizontal motion quantity is greater than a first threshold, it isdetermined that the user intends to push the water outlet pipe 140instead of turning on or turning off the faucet, and therefore theon-off state of the electrically controllable valve 200 does not change.

The motion quantity may be a displacement, a velocity or an accelerationaccording to different statuses in different embodiments.

Still referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the motionsensing unit 400 is disposed on the pulling water pipe 150, and avertical motion quantity of the pulling water pipe 150 may be detected.Herein, a motion quantity is described by using a displacement as anexample, and it may be set that when the pulling water pipe 150 is notpulled out, the vertical motion quantity is an initial value, and theinitial value may be, for example, zero. When detecting that thevertical motion quantity is greater than a second threshold, the controlunit 500 determines that the pulling water pipe 150 is in a pulled-outstate, and further turns on the electrically controllable valve 200, sothat the faucet is turned on. On the contrary, when detecting that thevertical motion quantity is less than another second threshold, thecontrol unit 500 determines that the pulling water pipe 150 is in areleased state, and further turns off the electrically controllablevalve 200, so that the faucet is turned off. Herein, the two secondthreshold may be either the same or different. Therefore, the user maydirectly use the faucet by pulling or releasing the pulling water pipe150 instead of turning on the faucet in the manual mode or the touchmode. This is herein referred to as a pull-down outlet mode. However,the faucet having the pulling water pipe 150 is not limited to must havea pull-down outlet mode in this embodiment of the present invention. Thefaucet having the pulling water pipe 150 may still be turned on orturned off in the manual mode or the touch mode (herein referred to as anon-pull-down outlet mode).

In some embodiments, when the water outlet pipe 140 rotates, the motionsensing unit 400 disposed on the pulling water pipe 150 also rotates,and therefore a horizontal motion quantity (which herein may be referredto as a second horizontal motion quantity) of the pulling water pipe 150may be detected, and it may be determined whether the second horizontalmotion quantity is greater than a third threshold. Herein, based on theposition on the pulling water pipe 150 at which the motion sensing unit400 is disposed, third thresholds of different values may be set. Forexample, if the motion sensing unit 400 is disposed at a position in arotatable water outlet pipe 140, because a relatively large secondhorizontal motion quantity of the pulling water pipe 150 is generateddue to the rotation of the water outlet pipe 140, a relatively largethird threshold may be set. If the motion sensing unit 400 is notdisposed at a position in a rotatable water outlet pipe 140, when thewater outlet pipe 140 rotates, the pulling water pipe 150 may stillrotate with the water outlet pipe 140, so that a relatively small secondhorizontal motion quantity is generated, and a relatively small thirdthreshold may be set, to determine whether the pulling water pipe 150 isrotated. However, the foregoing is merely an example, and thisembodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example,an inverse case may occur due to that the water outlet pipe 140 and thepulling water pipe 150 have structures different from those of theforegoing examples. Therefore, a relationship between the position onthe pulling water pipe 150 at which the motion sensing unit 400 isdisposed and the value of the third threshold is not limited in thisembodiment of the present invention, provided that whether the pullingwater pipe 150 is rotated can be determined by using the third thresholdand the detected second horizontal motion quantity. That is, whendetecting that the faucet body 100 is contacted by the object and thesecond horizontal motion quantity is less than the third threshold, thecontrol unit 500 changes the on-off state of the electricallycontrollable valve 200, or when detecting that the faucet body 100 iscontacted by the object and the second horizontal motion quantity isgreater than the third threshold, the control unit 500 does not changethe on-off state of the electrically controllable valve 200. By the way,in this example, if the control unit 500 does not detect that the faucetbody 100 is contacted by the object, the control unit 500 does notchange the on-off state of the electrically controllable valve 200.

In some embodiments, a rotation direction and a rotation angle of thewater outlet pipe 140 (or the pulling water pipe 150) may further be gotthrough a vector variation of the foregoing first horizontal motionquantity (or the second horizontal motion quantity).

In some embodiments, the motion sensing unit 400 may further be agyroscope, and whether the outlet pipe 140 rotates or pulling water pipe150 rotates as the water outlet pipe 140 rotates may be determined byusing a triaxial velocity signal measured by the gyroscope. In addition,whether the pulling water pipe 150 is pulled or released may bedetected. In some embodiments, the rotation direction and rotation angleof the water outlet pipe 140 or the pulling water pipe 150 may furtherbe got through directivity of the triaxial velocity signal.

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the motion sensing unit 400 may bea magnetoresistive sensor including a gear plate 410, a magnet 420, amagnetoresistive element 430, and a resistance detection circuit (notshown). The gear plate 410 is made of magnetic material such as iron,and a tooth flank 413 of the gear plate 410 has convex teeth 411 andconcave teeth 412 that are interlaced, and is sleeved on the pullingwater pipe 150. Herein, the gear plate 410 is the foregoing movablepart. The magnet 420 is located on one side of the tooth flank 413 ofthe gear plate 410, and the magnetoresistive element 430 is locatedbetween the gear plate 410 and the magnet 420. When the pulling waterpipe 150 rotates, the gear plate 410 rotates, and a distance between thetooth flank 413 and the magnet 420 changes, so that a magnetic fieldthat is between the magnet 420 and the gear plate 410 and in which themagnetoresistive element 430 is located changes. Therefore, a resistancevalue of the magnetoresistive element 430 changes due to the change ofthe magnetic field. The resistance detection circuit is connected to themagnetoresistive element 430, to detect the resistance value of themagnetoresistive element 430, so that whether the pulling water pipe 150rotates because of the rotation of the water outlet pipe 140 may bedetermined based on the change of the resistance value of themagnetoresistive element 430. In addition, when the pulling water pipe150 is pulled, the gear plate 410 is not opposite to the magnet 420. Inthis case, the magnetoresistive element 430 senses a magnetic fielddifferent from that when the gear plate 410 is opposite to the magnet420. Therefore, whether the pulling water pipe 150 is pulled or releasedmay also be determined based on the change of the resistance value ofthe magnetoresistive element 430. Herein, though a distance between theconvex tooth 411 and the concave tooth 412 that are interlaced on toothflank 413 is fixed, in some embodiments, the distance between the convextooth 411 and the concave tooth 412 may not be fixed and may be designedto be a combination of specific distances, so that when the gear plate410 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise, changing processes of theresistance value of the magnetoresistive element 430 are different. Inthis way, the rotation direction and angle of the water outlet pipe 140may be identified.

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the motion sensing unit 400 may bea Hall sensor including a magnetic disk 440, a Hall element 450, and avoltage detection circuit (not shown). The magnetic disk 440 has a roundshape, and a side edge of the magnetic disk 440 has north and southmagnetic poles that are interlaced, and is sleeved on the pulling waterpipe 150. Herein, the magnetic disk 440 is the foregoing movable part.The Hall element 450 is located on one side of the magnetic disk 440.When the pulling water pipe 150 rotates, the magnetic disk 440 rotates,so that the Hall element 450 senses a change of a magnetic field of themagnetic disk 440. Therefore, the Hall element 450 changes, due to thechange of the magnetic field, a voltage output from the Hall element450. The voltage detection circuit is connected to the Hall element 450,to detect the voltage value of the Hall element 450, so that whether thepulling water pipe 150 rotates because of the rotation of the wateroutlet pipe 140 may be determined based on the change of the voltagevalue output from the Hall element 450. In addition, when the pullingwater pipe 150 is pulled, the magnetic disk 440 is no longer opposite tothe Hall element 450, so that the Hall element 450 cannot sense amagnetic field or senses only a weak magnetic field. Therefore, whetherthe pulling water pipe 150 is pulled or released may also be determinedbased on the change of the voltage value of the Hall element 450.Herein, although a distance between a north magnetic pole and a southmagnetic pole that are interlaced on the magnetic disk 440 is fixed, insome embodiments, the distance between the north magnetic pole and thesouth magnetic pole may not be fixed and may be designed to be acombination of specific distances, so that when the magnetic disk 440rotates clockwise or counterclockwise, the changing processes of themagnetic field of the magnetic disk 440 sensed by the Hall element 450are different. In this way, the rotation direction and angle of thewater outlet pipe 140 may be identified.

In some embodiments, according to the embodiments in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6,in addition to detecting the rotation of the water outlet pipe 140 basedon the change of magnetic field strength, the rotation angle of thewater outlet pipe 140 may further be inferred through the times of thechange of the sensed magnetic field.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, the motion sensing unit 400includes a magnet 420 and a magnetoresistive element 430. Herein, themagnet 420 is the foregoing movable part and is disposed on an pullingwater pipe 150. The magnetoresistive element 430 is fixed at a positionin which magnetic field strength and a magnetic field direction of themagnet 420 can be sensed. When the magnet 420 changes a relativedistance between the magnet 420 and the magnetoresistive element 430because the pulling water pipe 150 is pulled or released, the magneticfield strength and direction that are sensed by the magnetoresistiveelement 430 change. When the magnet 420 rotates because the water outletpipe 140 rotates, the magnetic field strength and direction sensed bythe magnetoresistive element 430 changes, and changes of the magneticfield strength and direction when the water outlet pipe 140 rotates aredifferent from those when the pulling water pipe 150 is pulled orreleased. Based on this, the rotation direction and angle of the wateroutlet pipe 140 and whether the pulling water pipe 150 is pulled orreleased may be detected.

In some embodiments, for a faucet having the pulling water pipe 150, themagnet 420 is disposed on the water outlet pipe 140.

Referring to FIG. 8, in some embodiments, for a faucet that does nothave an pulling water pipe 150, the magnet 420 is disposed on the wateroutlet pipe 140. Based on this, the rotation direction and angle of thewater outlet pipe 140 may also be detected.

In some embodiments, the positions of the magnet 420 and themagnetoresistive element 430 may be interchanged.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9, the motion sensing unit 400 maybe an optical detector including a turntable 460 and an opticaltransceiver 470. Herein, the turntable 460 has a round shape. A sideedge of the turntable 460 has a pattern that bright and dark stripes areinterlaced, and is sleeved on the pulling water pipe 150. Therefore, theturntable 460 is the foregoing movable part. The optical transceiver 470is located on one side of the turntable 460, and shines on the turntable460 and detects reflected light. When the pulling water pipe rotates,the turntable 460 rotates, and the optical transceiver 470 detectsreflected light with different luminance to respond with differentoutput voltage values. The voltage detection circuit may detect theoutput voltage values, and determine, based on the output voltagevalues, whether the pulling water pipe 150 rotates because the wateroutlet pipe 140 rotates. In addition, when the pulling water pipe 150 ispulled, the turntable 460 is not opposite to the optical transceiver470. In this case, the optical transceiver 470 detects reflected lightdifferent from that when the turntable 460 is opposite to the opticaltransceiver 470. Therefore, whether the pulling water pipe 150 is pulledor released may also be determined based on the change of the voltagevalue of the optical transceiver 470. In some embodiments, the opticaltransceiver 470 may only receive light instead of both emitting andreceiving light.

Although the above descriptions are as examples in which the foregoingbright and dark stripes or north and south magnetic poles are in aplurality of quantity, this embodiment of the present invention is notlimited thereto. In some embodiments, there is only a combination of asingle bright stripe and a single dark stripe, or only a combination ofa single north magnetic pole and a single south magnetic pole.

In some embodiments, the turntable 460 may has another shape, so thatdifferent incidence angles are generated when light arrives at differentpositions of the side edge of the turntable 460, to be reflected todifferent directions. Therefore, when the turntable 460 rotates, theoptical transceiver 470 may detect a difference in light luminance or areflection direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the turntable 460 may be apolygon, and therefore the foregoing patterns do not need to be formedon the side edge of the turntable 460. As shown in FIG. 11, the sideedge of the turntable 460 may has a gear shape.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 12, when the side edge of theturntable 460 is not flat, the optical transceiver 470 may not bedisposed on the side end of the turntable 460, and a transmit end 471and a receive end 472 of the optical transceiver 470 may be located ontwo sides of an edge of a plane of the turntable 460, so that when theturntable 460 rotates, light emitted from the transmit end 471 may besometimes blocked by the turntable 460 or sometimes received by thereceive end 472 through a vacancy of the turntable 460.

In some embodiments, the movable part of the motion sensing unit 400 maybe one or more switches (for example, a mercury switch or a vibrationswitch). When a motion quantity of a specific direction reaches aspecific value, a conduction status of the switch changes, to detect achange of motion or rotation of the specific direction.

In some embodiments, a pull-down outlet mode or a non-pull-down outletmode may coexist with the touch mode or the manual mode. For example, ina state when the touch mode coexists with the pull-down outlet mode, theuser may pull the pulling water pipe 150, to turn on the faucet. Then,the user may touch the faucet body 100 to turn off the faucet, and thenrelease the pulling water pipe 150, so that water splashing around in aprocess of releasing the pulling water pipe 150 is prevented.

The pull-down outlet mode and the non-pull-down outlet mode may beswitched based on the first signal and the second signal. Whendetermining, based on the second signal, that the pulling water pipe 150is in a pulled-out state, and detecting, by using the first signal, thata time period in which the faucet body 100 is contacted by an objectexceeds a second time period, the control unit 500 changes the operationmode of the faucet from a current pull-down outlet mode to anon-pull-down outlet mode or from a current non-pull-down outlet mode toa pull-down outlet mode.

In some embodiments, the faucet body 100 may not have the foregoingmanual control valve 130 and does not have the manual mode, and isoperated in the touch mode. However, if the faucet body 100 has apulling water pipe 150, the faucet body 100 may still have the foregoingpull-down outlet mode. In addition, if the water outlet pipe 140 mayrotate, an action that the user pushes the water outlet pipe 140 mayalso be determined based on the first signal and the second signal.

In some embodiments, the faucet body 100 may not have the manual controlvalve 130 and the contact sensing unit 300, but have the motion sensingunit 400 to execute the foregoing pull-down outlet mode without havingthe manual mode and the touch mode.

In this specification, for ease of description, in comparisons of valuessuch as length of time and motion quantity, a case in which the valuesare the same are not specifically described. However, persons havingordinary skill in the art should understand that if the values are thesame, either a processing manner in which a value is greater than athreshold or a processing manner in which a value is less than athreshold may be performed, and one of the two may be selected to beperformed.

The foregoing first threshold, second threshold, and third threshold maybe specific values, but in some cases those are used to distinguishbetween cases of zero and non-zero. The first threshold is used as anexample for description. Being greater than the first threshold refersto a case in which the first horizontal motion quantity is non-zero, andbeing less than the first threshold refers to a case in which the firsthorizontal motion quantity is zero.

In some embodiments, the power module 700 includes two power supplyunits (referred to as a first power supply unit 710 and a second powersupply unit 720 hereinafter), and one of the two is selected to supplypower. For example, when the first power supply unit 710 cannot supplypower normally, the second power supply unit 720 supplies power. Thepower supply unit may supply power by converting an external source orby providing a source of the power supply unit, and may be, for example,a power supplier, a voltage regulator, a solar panel, a port, a battery,a capacitor, a piezoelectric switch, or a generator.

In some embodiments, the second power supply unit 720 may provide powerto only some elements. For example, the second power supply unit 720only provides power to the electrically controllable valve 200, so thatthe faucet may maintain a most basic function of being turned on orturned off.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of a power module 700 having two powersupply units. Two power supply units 710 and 720 are connected inparallel to the power-consuming element 800. The power module 700further includes a switching unit 730 electrically connected between thetwo power supply units 710 and 720, to be switched between the two powersupply units 710 and 720 to supply power by one of the two supply units710 and 720. The switching unit 730 includes at least one blockingelement. There are two blocking elements used as an example herein. Afirst blocking element 731 is coupled between the power-consumingelement 800 and the first power supply unit 710, and a second blockingelement 732 is coupled between the power-consuming element 800 and thesecond power supply unit 720. Herein, the blocking element may be, forexample, an open-circuit/short-circuit control element such as atransistor, a multiplexer, or a switch, to control conduction betweenthe power-consuming element 800 and the power supply units 710 or 720.Generally, the first blocking element 731 is in a short-circuit stateand the second blocking element 732 is in an open-circuit state, so thatthe first power supply unit 710 and the power-consuming element 800 areconducted, and the second power supply unit 720 and the power-consumingelement 800 are not conducted. In this case, the power-consuming element800 is powered by only the first power supply unit 710. When the firstpower supply unit 710 cannot be able or powerful to supply thepower-consuming element 800 with power, the first blocking element 731switches to the open-circuit state and the second blocking element 732switches to the short-circuit state, so that the second power supplyunit 720 and the power-consuming element 800 are conducted. Therefore,the power-consuming element 800 may be powered by the second powersupply unit 720 to keep operating normally.

In some embodiments, the first blocking element 731 shown in FIG. 13 maybe omitted.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the power module700.

Compared with FIG. 13, the power module 700 further includes a chargeloop 740 connected between the two power supply units 710 and 720, sothat one of the two power supply units 710 and 720 charges the other ofthe two power supply units 710 and 720. Herein, the charge loop 740includes a diode 741, to limit a current flow direction, so that thesecond power supply unit 720 does not generate a current into the firstpower supply unit 710, and the first power supply unit 710 charges thesecond power supply unit 720. However, this embodiment of the presentinvention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, a direction ofthe diode 741 may be opposite to the direction shown in FIG. 14, so thatthe second power supply unit 720 charges the first power supply unit710. Herein, the first power supply unit 710 or the second power supplyunit 720 that is charged may be a rechargeable device such as arechargeable battery or a capacitor.

In some embodiments, following the example in FIG. 14, the first powersupply unit 710 and the second power supply unit 720 are detachable.When the first power supply unit 710 cannot be able or powerful tosupply the power-consuming element 800 with power, the user may replacethe first power supply unit 710 with the second power supply unit 720,so that the second power supply unit 720 supplies the power-consumingelement 800 with power. Based on this, the first blocking element 731and the second blocking element 732 may be omitted.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the faucet may further includean indication unit 600 that is an audio indication unit herein and iselectrically connected to the control unit 500. The audio indicationunit may play voice based on a current operation mode and/or a waterflow state, for the user to identify the current operation mode and/orthe water flow state of the faucet. Herein, the voice played may be aspeech sound or a specific sound effect, for the user to make adistinction.

In some embodiments, the indication unit 600 may be a visual indicationunit and may emit light based on the current operation mode and/or thewater flow state, for the user to identify the current operation modeand/or the water flow state of the faucet. Herein, the emitted light mayhave a specific color or/and a pattern, for the user to make adistinction.

In some embodiments, the indication unit 600 is electrically connectedto the power module 700, and may output a signal based on a power supplystate of the power module 700, to indicate the power supply state (forexample, whether there is electricity or whether an electric quantity ora supplied voltage is normal) of the power module 700. In someembodiments, the power supply state may be a power supply state of asingle power supply unit.

In some embodiments, a foregoing result of detecting the rotation of thewater outlet pipe 140 may be used as an input signal. That is, the usermay use the water outlet pipe 140 as an input interface by rotating thewater outlet pipe 140, for example, adjusting strength of the indicationsignal of the indication unit 600, or adjusting a volume of cold water,a volume of hot water or a volume ratio of cold water to hot water ofthe electrically controllable valve 200.

In some embodiments, in a set state, the control unit 500 may get arotation status of the water outlet pipe 140 based on a signal of themotion sensing unit 400, and may adjust the strength of the indicationsignal of the indication unit 600 based on the rotation status (forexample, a rotation direction and a rotation angle). The adjusting thestrength of the indication signal may be, for example,increasing/reducing light luminance or increasing/reducing an audiovolume. For example, when the water outlet pipe 140 rotatescounterclockwise, the signal strength is increased, or when the wateroutlet pipe 140 rotates clockwise, the signal strength is reduced. Insome embodiments, the case may be contrary. In some embodiments, therotation angle may represent an increased or decreased quantity of thesignal strength.

In some embodiments, a changed quantity of the indication signalstrength may be inputted in another manner. For example, a touch actionof the user may be got through a signal of the contact sensing unit 300,and the quantity of the indication signal strength change may berepresented by a specific quantity of times of the touch actions or atime period in which the touch action lasts.

In some embodiments, entering or exiting the set state may be triggeredby using a signal of the contact sensing unit 300. That is, the controlunit 500 determines, based on the signal output from the contact sensingunit 300, whether a preset condition is met, and if the preset conditionis met, the control unit 500 switches between the set state and anon-set state. The preset condition may be, for example, a specificquantity of times of touch actions performed by the user or a specifictime period in which the touch action lasts.

In some embodiments, entering or exiting the set state may be triggeredby using a signal of the motion sensing unit 400. That is, the controlunit 500 determines, based on the signal output from the motion sensingunit 400, whether a preset condition is met, and if the preset conditionis met, the control unit 500 switches between the set state and thenon-set state. The preset condition may be, for example, a specificquantity of times for which the pulling water pipe 150 is pulled orreleased in a period of time. In some embodiments, the preset conditionmay be a specific quantity of times, a direction, or a frequency of therotation of the water outlet pipe 140.

In some embodiments, the preset condition triggering whether entering orexiting the set state may be a combination of at least two of therotation of the water outlet pipe 140, the user touch action detected byusing the contact sensing unit 300, and the action that the pullingwater pipe 150 is pulled or released. In some embodiments, thecombinations in the preset condition need to occur at the same time. Insome embodiments, the combinations in the preset condition occur in atime-sequential manner.

Referring to FIG. 15, which is a schematic three-dimensional diagram ofa faucet according to still another embodiment of the present invention.The faucet includes a faucet body 100, an electrically controllablevalve 200, a proximity sensing unit 900, a motion sensing unit 400 and acontrol unit 500. The control unit 500 is electrically connected to (forexample, electrically connected to by using a conductive wire) theelectrically controllable valve 200, the proximity sensing unit 900, andthe motion sensing unit 400. The proximity sensing unit 900 has adetection zone 910 outside the faucet body 100 to respond a change of athird signal based on whether an object enters the detection zone 910.The faucet body 100 includes a water inlet end 110 and a water outletend 120. The electrically controllable valve 200 is connected betweenthe water inlet end 110 and the water outlet end 120, to allow or blockthe connection between the water inlet end 110 and the water outlet end120 based on an on-off state of the electrically controllable valve 200.The control unit 500 decides the electrically controllable valve 200 tobe turned from the off state to the on state or from the on state to theoff state depending on the change of the third signal. The proximitysensing unit 900 may be a non-contact capacitance sensing unit, anultrasonic sensing unit, or an infrared sensing unit.

In some embodiments, the water outlet pipe 140 is rotatable, as shown inFIG. 16. The motion sensing unit 400 may be disposed on the water outletpipe 140. The user pushes the water outlet pipe 140 and the water outletend 120 can rotate relative to an axial center, to change a water flowposition. However, when the user pushes the water outlet pipe 140,usually, the user also enters the detection zone 910 of the proximitysensing unit 900, as a result, the control unit 500 may perform anerroneous determining to perform the foregoing action of turning on orturning off the faucet. Therefore, the motion sensing unit 400 may beused to help determine whether the action of entering the detection zone910 indicates that the user wants to push the water outlet pipe 140. Aspecific detection manner is that the first horizontal motion quantityof the water outlet pipe 140 may be obtained by using the second signaloutput from the motion sensing unit 400. When the control unit 500detects that an object enters the detection zone 910 of the proximitysensing unit 900 (that is, the third signal changes from another firstlevel to another second level) and the first horizontal motion quantityis less than the first threshold, it is determined that the user intendsto turn on or turn off the faucet through entering the detection zone910, and therefore the on-off state of the electrically controllablevalve 200 changes. When the control unit 500 detects that an objectenters the detection zone 910 of the proximity sensing unit 900 (thatis, the third signal changes from another first level to another secondlevel) and the first horizontal motion amount is greater than a firstthreshold, it is determined that the user intends to push the wateroutlet pipe 140 instead of turning on or turning off the faucet, andtherefore the on-off state of the electrically controllable valve 200does not change.

Referring to FIG. 15, in some embodiments, when the water outlet pipe140 rotates, the motion sensing unit 400 disposed on the pulling waterpipe 150 also rotates, and therefore the second horizontal motionquantity of the pulling water pipe 150 may be detected, and it may bedetermined whether the second horizontal motion quantity is greater thanthe third threshold. Herein, based on the position on the pulling waterpipe 150 at which the motion sensing unit 400 is disposed, thirdthresholds of different values may be set. That is, when detecting thatthe object enters the detection zone 910 and the second horizontalmotion quantity is less than the third threshold, the control unit 500changes the on-off state of the electrically controllable valve 200, orwhen detecting that the object enters the detection zone 910 and thesecond horizontal motion quantity is greater than the third threshold,the control unit 500 does not change the on-off state of theelectrically controllable valve 200. By the way, in this example, if thecontrol unit 500 does not detect that the object enters the detectionzone 910, the control unit 500 does not change the on-off state of theelectrically controllable valve 200.

The control unit 500 may control an operation mode of the faucet basedon the third signal. Herein, the operation mode may be the manual modeor a proximity-sensing mode. The manual mode is used by the user tooperate the manual control valve 130, and when the manual control valve130 is turned on, the faucet is turned on, and when the manual controlvalve 130 is turned off, the faucet is turned off. The proximity-sensingmode is used by the user to determine, based on an action of that anobject enters the detection zone 910, whether to turn on or turn off thefaucet. When the control unit 500 detects that a time period in whichthe third signal changes from another first level to another secondlevel and keeps in the second level longer than a third time period, itindicates that an object enters the detection zone 910 for a period oftime, and it indicates that the user intends to change the operationmode of the faucet. Therefore, the control unit 500 changes theoperation mode of the faucet from the current manual mode to theproximity-sensing mode or from the current proximity-sensing mode to themanual mode.

Referring to FIG. 15, in some embodiments, the motion sensing unit 400is disposed on the pulling water pipe 150, and a vertical motionquantity of the pulling water pipe 150 may be detected. Herein, a motionquantity is described by using a displacement as an example, and it maybe set that when the pulling water pipe 150 is not pulled out, thevertical motion quantity is an initial value, and the initial value maybe, for example, zero. When detecting that the vertical motion quantityis greater than a second threshold, the control unit 500 determines thatthe pulling water pipe 150 is in a pulled-out state, and further turnson the electrically controllable valve 200, so that the faucet is turnedon. On the contrary, when detecting that the vertical motion quantity isless than another second threshold, the control unit 500 determines thatthe pulling water pipe 150 is in a released state, and further turns offthe electrically controllable valve 200, so that the faucet is turnedoff. Herein, the two second threshold may be either the same ordifferent. Therefore, the user may directly use the faucet by pulling orreleasing the pulling water pipe 150 instead of turning on the faucet inthe manual mode or the proximity-sensing mode. This is herein referredto as a pull-down outlet mode. However, the faucet having the pullingwater pipe 150 is not limited to must have a pull-down outlet mode inthis embodiment of the present invention. The faucet having the pullingwater pipe 150 may still be turned on or turned off in the manual modeor the proximity-sensing mode (herein referred to as a non-pull-downoutlet mode).

The pull-down outlet mode and the non-pull-down outlet mode may beswitched based on the second signal and the third signal. Whendetermining, based on the second signal, that the pulling water pipe 150is in a pulled-out state, and detecting, by using the third signal, thata time period in which an object lasts to be in the detection zone 910exceeds a fourth time period, the control unit 500 changes the operationmode of the faucet from a current pull-down outlet mode to anon-pull-down outlet mode or from a current non-pull-down outlet mode toa pull-down outlet mode.

In some embodiments, the faucet body 100 may not have the foregoingmanual control valve 130 and does not have the manual mode, and isoperated in the proximity-sensing mode. However, if the faucet body 100has a pulling water pipe 150, the faucet body 100 may still have theforegoing pull-down outlet mode. In addition, if the water outlet pipe140 may rotate, an action that the user pushes the water outlet pipe 140may also be determined based on the first signal and the third signal.

In conclusion, a contact sensing unit or a proximity sensing unit, and amotion sensing unit may be installed on a faucet in an embodiment of thepresent invention, so that the faucet, based on a detected signal of thefaucet, executes a plurality of operation modes or switches between aplurality of operation modes. In addition, a faucet in an embodiment ofthe present invention may be used as an input interface of a set signal.Furthermore, a power module of a faucet in an embodiment of the presentinvention has a plurality of power supply units, so that it can beensured that the faucet is normally operated. Moreover, a faucet in anembodiment of the present invention further has an indication unit thatmay be used by a user to identify a status of the faucet.

What is claimed is:
 1. A faucet, having at least one operation mode, thefaucet comprising: a faucet body, comprising a water inlet end, a wateroutlet end and a rotatable water outlet pipe between the water inlet endand the water outlet end; an electrically controllable valve, connectedbetween the water inlet end and the water outlet end, to allow or blockconnection between the water inlet end and the water outlet end based onan on-off state of the electrically controllable valve; a contactsensing unit, comprising a sensing end, wherein the sensing end isdisposed on or electrically connected to the faucet body, to respond,based on whether the rotatable water outlet pipe is contacted by anobject, a change of a signal output from the contact sensing unit; amotion sensing unit, which is an accelerometer or a gyroscope, torespond, based on a rotation status of the rotatable water outlet pipe,a signal of an acceleration output from the accelerometer or a signal ofa velocity output from the gyroscope; and a control unit, electricallyconnected to the contact sensing unit, the motion sensing unit, and theelectrically controllable valve, to get the rotation status of therotatable water outlet pipe based on the acceleration or the velocity,and to change, when the operation mode is a touch mode, and the controlunit detects that the rotatable water outlet pipe is contacted by theobject based on the signal output from the contact sensing unit and therotatable water outlet pipe is not rotated based on that theacceleration or the velocity is lower than a threshold, the on-off stateof the electrically controllable valve, or not change, when theoperation mode is the touch mode, and the control unit detects that therotatable water outlet pipe is contacted by the object based on thesignal output from the contact sensing unit and the rotatable wateroutlet pipe is rotated based on that the acceleration or the velocity ishigher than the threshold, the on-off state of the electricallycontrollable valve.
 2. The faucet according to claim 1, wherein thefaucet body further comprises a manual control valve located between thewater inlet end and the water outlet end, to allow or block theconnection between the water inlet end and the water outlet end based onan on-off state of the manual control valve when the operation mode is amanual mode, and the control unit further controls the operation mode ofthe faucet based on the signal output from the contact sensing unit tochange the operation mode of the faucet from the manual mode to thetouch mode or from the touch mode to the manual mode.
 3. The faucetaccording to claim 2, wherein when detecting that a time period in whichthe faucet body is contacted by the object exceeds a certain timeperiod, the control unit changes the operation mode of the faucet fromthe manual mode to the touch mode or from the touch mode to the manualmode.
 4. The faucet according to claim 1, further comprising anindication unit electrically connected to the control unit, to output asignal based on a current operation mode or a water flow state.
 5. Thefaucet according to claim 1, further comprising a power modulecomprising two power supply units, wherein one of the two power supplyunits supplies the electrically controllable valve, the contact sensingunit, the motion sensing unit, and the control unit with power in afirst state, and the other one of the two power supply units at leastsupplies the electrically controllable valve with power in a secondstate.
 6. The faucet according to claim 1, further comprising anindication unit and a power module, wherein the indication unit and thepower module are electrically connected to the control unit, so that theindication unit outputs a signal based on a supply state of the powermodule.
 7. The faucet according to claim 1, wherein the faucet bodyfurther comprises a pulling water pipe that can be pulled out from thefaucet body, and the motion sensing unit is disposed on the pullingwater pipe.
 8. The faucet according to claim 7, wherein the motionsensing unit detects a vertical acceleration or a vertical velocity ofthe pulling water pipe.
 9. The faucet according to claim 7, wherein theoperation mode further comprises a pull-down outlet mode, when theoperation mode is the pull-down outlet mode and the control unit detectsthat the vertical acceleration or the vertical velocity is greater thana threshold, the control unit turns on the electrically controllablevalve.
 10. The faucet according to claim 9, wherein the operation modeof the faucet further comprises a non-pull-down outlet mode, and whencontrol unit determines that the pulling water pipe is in a pulled-outstate and detects that a time period in which the faucet body iscontacted by the object exceeds a certain time period, the control unitchanges the operation mode of the faucet from the pull-down outlet modeto the non-pull-down outlet mode or from the non-pull-down outlet modeto the pull-down outlet mode.
 11. The faucet according to claim 7,wherein the operation mode further comprises a pull-down outlet mode,when the operation mode is the pull-down outlet mode and the controlunit detects that the vertical acceleration or the vertical velocity isless than a threshold, the control unit turns off the electricallycontrollable valve.
 12. The faucet according to claim 11, wherein theoperation mode of the faucet further comprises a non-pull-down outletmode, and when control unit determines that the pulling water pipe is ina pulled-out state and detects that a time period in which the faucetbody is contacted by the object exceeds a certain time period, thecontrol unit changes the operation mode of the faucet from the pull-downoutlet mode to the non-pull-down outlet mode or from the non-pull-downoutlet mode to the pull-down outlet mode.